Nonstop flight route between Kotzebue, Alaska, United States and Columbus, Mississippi, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ), Kotzebue, Alaska, United States and Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,677 miles (or 5,917 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Ralph Wien Memorial Airport and Columbus Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Ralph Wien Memorial Airport and Columbus Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ):

• Because of Ralph Wien Memorial Airport's relatively low elevation of 14 feet, planes can take off or land at Ralph Wien Memorial Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) is Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport (TNM), which is located 10,291 miles (16,561 kilometers) away in Villa Las Estrellas, Antarctica.
• The closest airport to Ralph Wien Memorial Airport (OTZ) is Robert (Bob) Curtis Memorial Airport (ORV), which is located 43 miles (69 kilometers) E of OTZ.

Facts about Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".
• As the demand for pilots to support the war in Southeast Asia increased, the number of B-52s based stateside fell because they were needed overseas.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• But while the Air Force’s pilot training requirements were decreasing, its strategic air arm was expanding.During the 1950s, Strategic Air Command wings had become extremely large.
• The 454th Bombardment Wing completed more than 100 missions to South Vietnam without losing a single bomber to enemy aircraft fire.
• The citizens' efforts bore fruit.
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.
• During World War II, the training load gradually increased until Columbus was graduating 195 pilots per month.
• In 1965 the 454th converted to B-52D, which was re-engineered for conventional bomb missions over Southeast Asia, although some B-52Cs were also assigned during 1968–69.
• The host unit at Columbus is the 14th Flying Training Wing assigned to the Air Education and Training Command.
• With the end of World War II, Columbus AAF was first placed on "reduced activity status", and was inactivated on 15 August 1946.